SBCA ISSUES STATEMENT ON SATELLITE HOME VIEWER ACT LEGISLATION AGREED TO BY HOUSE JUDICIARY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEES

-- SBCA President Chuck Hewitt Commends House Judiciary and Commerce Committees for Work on Satellite Home Viewer Act Legislation --

ALEXANDRIA, VA, APRIL 23, 1999 – Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) President Chuck Hewitt issued the following statement on the combined House Judiciary and Commerce Bill concerning the Satellite Home Viewer Act:

"SBCA is encouraged by the legislation agreed to today by the House Commerce and Judiciary Committees. Although we remain concerned about several provisions of the bill, we support its passage by the full House and commend the sponsors for their leadership on this important consumer issue. We continue to seek changes to the legislation that will ensure that consumers have full access to network service via satellite."

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association of America (SBCA) is the national trade organization representing all segments of the home satellite industry. It is committed to expanding the utilization of satellite technology for the broadcast delivery of entertainment, news, information and educational programming. The SBCA is composed of DBS service providers, programmers, equipment manufacturers, distributors, retailers, encryption vendors, and national and regional distribution companies.